Arvedi Group has warned that it expects 2019 to be a "difficult year" on a number of factors, including a struggling economy, high imports and the effects of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions quotas on energy costs, president Giovanni Arvedi said.
Imports of hot-rolled coil, a key Arvedi product, to Italy increased by 54% in the first four months of 2019 compared with the same period in 2018, the Italy-based steelmaker said in its financial results on Tuesday June 11. Arvedi noted that this increase in imports took place despite the presence of European Union safeguarding measures on a list of imported steel products, including HRC. These measures take the form of tariff rates and a range of quotas that are partly annual and country-specific and partly quarterly and global. In the case of HRC, the European Commission (EC) only applied a...